The Romance Radio Presents...RM Sotera

RM Sotera and I discuss her writing and the three books in the “Dirty” series: Dirty Dancer, Dirty Deed and Dirty Valkyrie. Her ability to create a world where vampires exist alongside of Norse Gods is exemplary. Each of her books can be read as a stand-alone volume, but, for the absolute best experience, I highly suggest you read them in order (as above).

While each of her books include characters from the others, a different protagonist takes center stage in each. These are a fun read, highly entertaining and the mix of mythos makes these stories wonderfully creative. When a good author mixes it up with her favorite paranormal characters, you are in for a real treat.

MP3 Audio link - http://rrn.me/f1JL5t
Dirty Dancer- http://rrn.me/fKvTtZ
Dirty Deed – http://rrn.me/eNslJa
Dirty Valkyrie – http://rrn.me/eqexgh


RM Sotera’s Blog – http://rmsotera.wordpress.com/
RM Sotera’s Web Site – http://www.rmsotera.com/

OLDIES, BUT GOODIES - THE DRAKHORN TABOO II

The Drakhom Taboo II
© Copyright Celia Jade
All Rights Reserved, eXtasy Books

Flame Rating: 4 Flames

Pages: 42
Cover Artist: Martine Jardin
Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Contemporary, Vampire, Fantasy Ganmes

Excerpt:

“Do not waste your time with me, Devon. I’m not interested in your propositions—particularly the second.” She stood and gave him a curt smile. “To be honest, you are not my type.” Bianca walked out of the restaurant with as much poise as she could muster under the circumstances. She’d taken only a dozen or so steps when a firm hand grasped her upper arm.

“Bianca, hold on a minute.”

She turned and met his ebony gaze, her heart beating out an erratic pattern. There was no denying the man affected her.

“I didn’t mean to offend you. Look, you’re not my type either…but I want you. At least I can admit it,” he said in a thick voice.

She extricated her arm from his grip. Her blood was rushing through her body like an electric current. Yes, she wanted him, too. One night of unbridled sex would get the emotional build up out of her system. “Really? And what is your type, Devon Slane?” she purred, oblivious to the crowd that parted and walked around them.

A corner of his mouth lifted. “I normally stick to my kind.”

“Ah, the Drakhom kind. I had a feeling. Well…you’ve just confirmed that you really are not my type.”

“Why is that, Bianca? Do you prefer tamer men?”

Oh, he knows how to press my buttons. She smiled and placed her finger on the lapel of his jacket, pleased to hear his breath shift. “You couldn’t handle me,” she said softly. Mischief flickered in his eyes and he chuckled. His fingers caught a lock of her hair and twirled it, sending a frisson through her.

“We are a challenge to each other. You’d like to humble me and I’d like to have my way with you…release your fire. But I intimidate you.”

The velvety timbre of his voice provoked her dangerously. She tilted her head back to meet his gaze directly. “You’re so sure of yourself.”

He grinned. “Take me down a few pegs, Bianca. If you can.”

Her gaze fell to his mouth and she had the urge to erase its smugness with a wicked kiss. She rose on tiptoes and brought her lips within two inches of his. “Damn you, devil,” she murmured before turning around to hail a cab. She heard his low chuckle as she slid into the backseat and forced herself to look ahead.


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OLDIES, BUT GOODIES - THE DRAKHORN TABOO

The Drakhorn Taboo
© Copyright Celia Jade
All Rights Reserved, eXtasy Books

Flame Rating: 4 Flames
Pages: 36
Cover Artist: Martine Jardin
Genre: Paranormal, Vampire, Drakhorn, Romance, Fantasy Games, Fantasy

Excerpt:

Tanton Manning was damned if he let a woman like Kate simply walk out of his life. Within ten minutes of their first meeting, he knew he wanted her as sure as the sun rose in the east. Intelligent and feminine, late twenties or so, with looks any man would die for. Hair as smooth as silk…the kind of dark blonde that would be the color of honey if it were a shade darker. Arresting eyes—twin pools of sea-green and long lashes. A straight, delicate nose and deep pink lips so voluptuous they appeared bee-stung. Her heart-shaped face and perfect skin glowed with health. Although she was no taller than five-six or so, her womanly figure made impact, from her shapely legs and leanly curved hips, to her small waist and generous breasts…more than a handful.

She’d worked in his company for four days and each day he’d gone home physically aroused and frustrated. She had started the fire in his flesh and she’d put it out.

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OLDIES, BUT GOODIES - CAPTURED

Captured
© Copyright Celia Jade
All Rights Reserved, eXtasy Books

ISBN: 978-1-55487-379-1
Pages: 166
Flame Rating: 3 Flames
Cover Artist: Martine Jardin
Release Date: August, 2006
Genre: Historical Romance

Excerpt:

His words shocked her. What a callous rogue he was! She pushed at his chest with her free hand but he didn’t budge. Lord, he was built like a rock! Her heart beat madly and she felt her legs weaken again. “How forward of you! You have no manners--no respect at all!” she finally managed to blurt out.

“Apologize!” he insisted, pulling her close. “Look at me, Miss Marquez,” he ordered, pronouncing her family name with mocking dislike.

She unwillingly looked at him, meeting his furious glare while tears pricked at her eyes. Once again he had managed to frustrate and humiliate her.

Alina regretted her recklessness. She should have known better than to poke at the beast. Or had she goaded him on purpose--hoping to get some sort of passionate reaction from him? She closed her eyes at the thought. Impossible. She wasn’t like that. Didn’t even like the man. She swallowed with difficulty because her throat had gone dry. “I--I apologize for what I said…I just want my family to know I’m alive.”

His expression softened a fraction and his grip slackened. “Yes, well, like I explained from the start, that will happen soon enough. You must learn not to be so stubborn.”

She raised her chin defensively but chose to remain silent.

Ramon stared thoughtfully into her eyes for a moment and then his gaze moved over her tense face, stopping at her mouth which was just as inviting now as it had been last night.

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OLDIES, BUT GOODIES - HER WARRIOR LORD

Her Warrior Lord
© Copyright Celia Jade
All Rights Reserved, eXtasy Books

ISBN: 1-55410-820-9
Pages: 250
Flame Rating: 4 Flames
Cover Artist: Angela Waters
Release Date: December 1, 2007
Genre: Fantasy Romance

Excerpt:

"It seems as if you've lost your way, young lady," said a voice from somewhere.

Kyla gasped and looked nervously about but saw no one. "Who's there?" she called out anxiously.

From behind a thick tree appeared a man with long black hair and an angled face that was strangely charming. Kyla swallowed nervously and took in his long, black coat that covered what seemed like a sinewy frame. He stepped over a thick root with his black boots and came up alongside the horse to peer up at her. She was taken aback by the blackness of his eyes and a mouth that seemed oddly wide. And it grew even wider when he grinned.

"Now how did you come this way?" he asked in a gruff voice.

Kyla was perturbed by his odd look but thankful that at least he was human--well, looked human. She cleared her throat. "I meant to go to Gosforth. Unfortunately we encountered a snake on the way and my horse got spooked and ran straight into this forest," she explained, hoping the man would show her the way out.

He clasped his hands before him. "Snakes. Such nasty creatures, aren't they?" he said in a nonchalant way that made Kyla more wary of him.

"Could you--would you mind showing me the way out of here?" she asked, almost holding her breath for his response.

The man took a step forward and placed a hand on her leg. "Now why would I do that, my dear?" he replied as Kyla gasped and stared into his eyes, which had turned blood-red and her scream caught in her throat before she lost all consciousness.

She came to some minutes later and found herself tied to the trunk of a tree. The man reappeared right before her making her cry out in fear. But he wasn't a man anymore. She stared into the face of a horrible wolf-like creature with red eyes, a rough beard and two protruding fangs on its lower jaw.

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Author spotlight with Regan Taylor

Hello Regan,
Tell us, what has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
Having a vivid imagination. My own every day life is pretty staid. I like it that way. I'm not big on needless drama and constant adrenaline rushes. But I do like the idea of going to other times and places. Reading is one avenue for accomplishing that and writing takes me every further.

How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
Stunned. Utterly and completely stunned. It wasn't anything I ever saw myself doing.

How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
Dreamer—most of my books come from my dreams. I have vivid dreams, often lucid dreams and write them down as soon as I wake from them. I've studied dream work since high school and have trained myself to wake up immediately after a dream and to write it down. Since I started writing, I dream the next scene for most of my books. So does that make me a dreamster?

What makes a book great in your eyes?
Three dimensional characters, solid research, being able to transport me into the story so I feel like I'm part of it.

What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
You know, even after, ummm, let's see, five years since my first book was published, I still feel like a beginning.

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
I'm human, what do you think?

What influences your writing? And why?
My dreams, my day to day life.

Name one thing readers don’t know about you.
I take classes like normal people go to movies.

What are you working on now?
With All Dispatch.

Who is your favorite all-time author?
Alexander Dumas.

Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
Painfully so.

Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
Most of my books are time travels so that seems to put me in several genres within the same book. I do like books—and writing—with reincarnation and dream themes.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
Right where I am—in my living room with my cats.

How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
Writer's block? Knock wood, never had it.

Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
I'm a legal secretary.

What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
I can decide what the ending should be.

To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?
Traveling Bride—which hasn't been sold yet. The Thrill is Gone—it's my fantasy of what my life should have been.

How do you go about developing your characters and setting?
The characters tell me who they are and what they see.
Okay, at the risk of sounding crazy and going back to my other career—I was a therapist for awhile although I guess I still am because it's not really something you resign from. While completing my masters, Jung was my icon, my hoped for arrival point as a therapist. I believe when we say our characters speak to us that they are in fact parts of ourselves. They say most of us use 10% of our mental capacity. I believe authors have found a way to use at least part of that other 90% and that’s where those fascinating characters come from. They are parts of our psyche and if we listen to that inner voice, we know what makes a good story.

If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
Happy reading.

http://regantaylorsworld.blogspot.com/

Author spotlight with Dianna Hunter

Dear Dianna,
Thanks for agreeing to the interview.

What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
Writing has allowed me to release all those emotions and stories beating against the walls of my brain.

What makes a book great in your eyes?The ability to keep a reader’s attention and put him inside the character’s skin.

What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
Write what you feel—no matter what it is. If you feel pain, put it on paper—if you are feeling erotic, tell us about it, etc.

What are you working on now?
The new title is Daemon Hunter. Leanna is a world-walker from the world of Haiti. She is tracking a rogue wizard through the Chain of worlds to rescue her brothers. Her biggest challenge is the chance encounter with other races who may mistake her for the fabled demons of their own mythology for Lea is a tall, slender young woman—with scaled bronze-gold skin, red/gold eyes and a magnificent set of horns curling through her locks of forest-green hair.

Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
It is both for no matter how much fantasy is involved, there is always just that touch of someone remembered and loved.

Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
Fantasy is the world I feel most at home.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
On the beach.

How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
I take a couple of days off and do something else—I take pictures or just read a book by one of my favorite authors to take my mind away from my own world.

Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?
I am a photographer.

What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
I get to take some of the chaos out of my mind and organize it on paper.

To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?
I think like The Druid’s Revenge the best. It was originally titled Hear the Wind Cry because it was how I heard the story told. I like Mariah’s way of gathering her power to her and coping with her inner pain.

How do you go about developing your characters and setting?
A character comes to me of her own and the world forms around us. Anything from a newspaper story to a real event can instigate this. In The Druid’s Captive, the murder at the beginning of the story was real—perhaps the perpetrator was not a big man in black but—well, they never did catch him.

If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
Just keep on dreaming – and writing it down to share!

Author spotlight with Thadd Evans

Dear Thadd,
Thanks for agreeing to the interview. Tell us, what has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?
In elementary school, junior high, senior high and college, teachers praised me for my short stories and essays. In high school, my English teacher said, "You're the only one in my class who has anything to say. Write more!"

How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?
I was shocked, in a good way.

What makes a book great in your eyes?
It makes you laugh, think, imagine and hope. It opens your mind to many possibilities.

What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
Read Elements of Style by Strunk and White and The First Five Pages, Staying out of the Rejection Pile, by Noah Lukeman. Also, write as much as you can and join a writer's group. That is an over simplification, but it's a start.

What influences your writing? And why?
Images in my head, movies, books, newspaper articles. For about thwenty-five years, I read about quantum mechanics, a field that is so weird, so fantastic that it boggles the mind. Why? Because these provoke my imagination.

What are you working on now?
Beyond Portal 2212, a science fiction novel about a group of cloned humans who are trying to survive in an alternate universe.

Who is your favorite all-time author?
It's a tossup between James Joyce, author of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man and Josesph Heller, author of Catch-22.

How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
I get tired, but I never have to deal writer's block.

What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
Today, it's the fact that my stories are the best way to articulate my ideas about the future. Although movies like Terminator and Blade Runner and other movies deal with that topic, there are many possible futures.

Author spotlight with Viola Grace

Dear Viola,

Thanks for agreeing to this interview. Let’s start by asking how you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?
Pantser all the way. Every time I plot, it goes off in a different direction.

What makes a book great in your eyes?
Emotional development of a character. If the characters don’t evolve, then what is the point? I want the females and the males to come to realizations and discover a part of their personality that they had forgotten about.

What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?
Write, finish, submit. Write again.

If you don’t’ finish something, then you will never know if your writing can stand on its own. Choose your genre by writing a book you enjoy, not by what you think someone else may like. If you are lucky, your passion for your topic will come through and then your audience will come.

Are love scenes easy/difficult to write?
A love scene is easy. A sex scene is difficult. With a love scene, I am concentrating on the feelings of the couple. The sensations, the seduction of the senses. With sex scenes, you have to break it down to the physical, steps in a dance. If someone steps on the other’s toes, the music stops.

Do you write in one genre or several different ones? And why?
I write in both Urban romantic fantasy and in erotic romantic fantasy. I started in erotic writing because I knew I could do it well, but as I have evolved, the urge to tell the story has become all-consuming. It is easier to write an action/romance without having to work in a detailed sex scene.

How do you deal with the dreaded writer’s block?
I call my friends and bitch about it. I craft, craft, do housework, craft, chat online and when my brain feels it is time, I go back to writing.

What’s your biggest reward in being a writer?
Fan mail. I LOVE fan mail. I have suspected that someone is reading my work, but getting emails from readers makes my day. Better than a good review any day.

To date, which is your favorite story? Which one did you have the most fun writing?
Freak Factor is my current favourite story. The most fun one as well. Creating superheroes in space makes the Sector Guard my favourite set of books in general. They were all fun to write.

How do you go about developing your characters and setting?
For setting, I create a place where the characters can get together with a slight amount of privacy. The logic behind their seclusion has to make sense. As for characters, I pick a personality trait that I want the character to embody and I build the character around it.

If you had the opportunity to say one thing to your readers, what would that be?
Thank you so much for letting me do what I love for a living!

 http://www.violagrace.com/
viola@violagrace.com

Character spotlight with Queenie Taehlor

My name is Queenie Taehlor and I guess you could say I'm pretty creative. Back in high school, I started a girl band called the Four Cups and we sang a lot of the old favorites like Book of Love and Leader of the Pack. That was before we started writing our own songs. That mainly would be Dee Dee Deeds aka dirty deeds and I. We actually did okay on the music charts, but as we moved into college and our 20's we sort of changed direction. Actually that was my idea. I started messing around by taking one of our songs and writing a story about it. Surprise, surprise, it sold and before you know it, all four of us started to write books based on our songs. Now, we're kind of at one of those turning points again. That's not to say our creative juices aren't flowing. And I had to admit my guy, Derek Conrad, inspires me in many other ways.

What makes you special? What differentiates you from your kind? Do you have special abilities?
Different, Himmmm. Well I guess forming our group and coming up with ideas for our songs and then taking those and making them stories. I wouldn't say I'm different. I'm just an average kind of girl with a decent singing voice and a flare for writing divine romance.

Tell me about your most current adventure.
Most current adventure. Himmmm. Well we just finished doing a television show that had an interesting twist to it. Then Karley, one of the Cups got herself into a situation that even those of us who have known her forever can't quite believe. You'll be able to read about that in the Knight of Pentacles.

If you could offer your author advice, what would it be?
Oh man, I LOVE my author. She gave me a hot guy, a hot younger guy and you know what they say about younger men—lots of energy. She gave me not one but two great careers and some awesome friends. And my hot younger guy, she made him daring. Advice…tell us Kimmie and Amber's stories!

Are you happy with the way people perceive you?
Now that's an interesting question. I wasn't until Regan Taylor told my story. I didn't see myself the way she did, but by the end of The Thrill is Gone, I think I found the thrill and more.

Is expressing love difficult for you? Why?
It was. I mean, here I was with this amazing guy -- Derek makes your heart go pit-a-pat double time. But I had my issues and I thought he had his issues with my issues, but not the way I thought the issues were getting in the way.

What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you?
My life! Imagine being a teenage rock star and then having your songs turned into stories that were all best sellers.

If you could time travel, where would you go?
Back to Atlantis and find out where it went.

What other characters have influenced you?
Definitely Karley, Amber and Kim, my fellow Cups.

Where do you see yourself in five years?
You know, the Cups and I have talked about this. We've known each other for years and have been through so much together. From singers to writers and now we're looking at writing something different. I'm thinking we should make our books into movies. Yup, we should produce our books and turn them into fantabulous movies!